The present invention relates to structures for supporting slidable doors (e.g., shower or closet doors). More particularly, it pertains to an apparatus that can be easily adjusted to change the angle at which a slidable door is mounted, thereby compensating for an out-of-plumb wall.
A slidable door generally incorporates a track system at its top for suspending the door. The method of suspension usually involves hangers and guides. The hangers have one end attached to the door and the other end connected to a guide. The guides, frequently in the form of rollers, move along horizontal top tracks so as to permit the door to slide along the track.
One problem with using slidable doors is that the surrounding walls are often out-of-plumb. When a slidable door is positioned against an out-of-plumb wall, either the top or bottom portion of the door fits snugly against the wall, while the other portion gaps away from the wall. For a slidable door in an entranceway, this will allow drafts to pass by the door. Likewise, an improperly aligned slidable door on a shower or other bathing enclosure may permit water to leak from the bathing area. Out of plubm walls can also make it difficult to move the rollers on the tracks when the doors moved.
Various types of slidable door structures have been used to compensate for out-of-plumb walls or support structures. See. e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,104,829 and 4,633,614. For these systems, adjustment is difficult and/or the door must be removed from its track to re-position the rollers, and/or the parts involved are difficult and expensive to make.
Thus, it can be seen that an improved apparatus is needed which can support a slidable door and be easily adjusted to compensate for an out-of-plumb wall structure.